International Shrine of Haemi Martyrs
An international Catholic shrine on the burial landscape of Haemi’s largely unnamed martyrs, linking recovered remains, memorial architecture and the historic prisoner route from the fortress
Korean Catholic martyr history, pilgrimage, memorial landscapes, Haemieupseong history, long-distance walking and visitors interested in how anonymous victims are commemorated
A modern shrine compound with church, martyrs’ tower, Tomb of Unknown Martyrs and memorial spaces beside Haemi Stream, connected on foot to Haemieupseong and the longer route toward Hanti Pass
Haemi’s distinction is collective rather than biographical: the site gives physical form to a persecution remembered through burial ground, recovered remains and a route whose victims mostly left no names
Most of the names are missing
Haemi remembers a persecution on a scale larger than its surviving records. More than 1,000 Catholics were killed around Haemi Stream, many by burial alive during the late-19th-century persecutions. Only a small fraction can be identified by name or baptismal name
That absence shapes the shrine. The central memorial language is collective: a Tomb of Unknown Martyrs, a tall martyrs’ tower and a church built for people whose individual biographies largely disappeared. The site is therefore less about one canonized figure than about recovering a community that the historical record barely preserved
The ground itself became evidence
The present shrine occupies Yeosutgol beside Haemi Stream, the execution and burial ground where Catholics were killed in large pits after imprisonment and torture at nearby Haemieupseong. In 1935, part of the victims’ remains was excavated from this stream-side burial area using local testimony. The recovered remains were later reinterred at the present shrine in 1995
The modern pilgrimage complex followed. A 16-metre martyrs’ tower stands beside Haemi Stream, and an outdoor church marks the remains-excavation area. These later structures sit directly on the landscape where arrest, execution and burial formed different parts of the same persecution history
The route begins at the shrine and leaves it
Haemi is the starting point of a 10.1-kilometre international pilgrimage route to Hanti Pass. The trail passes Haemieupseong before continuing toward the mountain pass used when groups of arrested Catholics were brought into Haemi
That route matters because the shrine is only one part of the historical geography. The fortress preserves imprisonment and torture sites; the stream-side shrine preserves the burial ground; Hanti Pass preserves the approach used by prisoners being transferred into the district
International status came from unnamed martyrs
Pope Francis visited Haemi on August 17, 2014, meeting Asian bishops at the shrine before celebrating the closing Mass of Asian Youth Day at Haemi Fortress. Three Haemi martyrs were beatified during the same papal visit
In 2021, the Holy See proclaimed Haemi an international pilgrimage site. The designation gave international standing to a shrine whose strongest historical claim rests precisely on the people who left no names behind
Before you go
Visit the shrine and Haemieupseong together if time allows; they hold different parts of the same persecution history and are about a 20-minute walk apart. For a longer visit, the marked pilgrimage route continues 10.1 kilometres from the shrine to Hanti Pass. Daily Mass is at 11:00, with confession at 10:00
- Hours
- The shrine is open year-round; Mass is held daily at 11:00 and confession at 10:00
- Admission
- General entry is free
- Access
- Pilgrimage groups can reserve through the shrine office; the church and memorial spaces remain part of an active religious site
- Transit
- From Seosan Terminal, buses to Haemi take about 15–20 minutes; the shrine is about a 20-minute walk from Haemieupseong